'No Danger In Defending The Work That We're Doing Today': Jeff Merkley Pushes For Rescission Reform

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During a Senate Appropriations Committee markup meeting on Thursday, the committee rejected Sen. Jeff Merkley's (D-OR) amendment that would have changed the rescission process.

Transcript

00:00to turn to the vote. Senator Merkley, final comment. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. And as

00:07you rightly noted, I am the ranking member on budget, so I've taken a very close look at this

00:12question of jurisdiction. We do have joint jurisdiction with the Budget Committee, but

00:18let's say we have this in our bill and we go to the floor and the parliamentarian advises

00:26that, despite that joint jurisdiction, that we were out of order. And by the way, this

00:33amendment does not amend in any way any language of the 1974 Impoundment and Budget Control Act.

00:43But let's say we lose that. Well then, if someone chooses, they put forward a budget point of

00:50order, a 306 budget point of order. It takes 60 votes to waive that point of order. We

00:57could, because we have among us enough persuasion with our colleagues in both parties that we

01:03could sustain that waiver. But if we fail, it would fall out. It's a targeted excision, you

01:11know, subtraction. So if the argument is correct about jurisdiction, if in fact I'm wrong about

01:20the joint jurisdiction, and we therefore end up having to vote on a waiver, we can either

01:29decide at that point to support the waiver, which I would encourage. We do waive a lot of

01:34things like that on the floor, but if we didn't have those 60 votes, it would fall. So first,

01:44there's a dispute over whether there's joint jurisdiction or single jurisdiction, but I assure

01:49you, having researched it, it is joint jurisdiction. If the parliamentarian were to rule that this

01:54is a unique situation that would only go to the budget committee, then we have a chance

01:58to do a waiver. But if we don't have the votes for that, it would come out. So there's no

02:04danger in defending the work that we're doing today. And again, we're defending this work.

02:09This does not prevent the administration from sending another rescission to the floor, for

02:12the reasons various folks have spoken to. I hope if that happens, that we will, as appropriations

02:18committee, say, no, let's refer it back to this committee for action on the floor. But

02:25this protects this work going forward. And by the way, this work only becomes law if President

02:29Trump has signed it. So in multiple ways, this is an important expression of precedent,

02:36an important expression of the bipartisan work of this committee. And as this conversation evolves,

02:42and I'm trying to point out that I'm really taking this out of the immediate bipartisan or

02:46the partisan fulcrum of things that the director of OMB might suggest be sent to us,

02:53because those can still be sent to the floor. Those are previous year appropriations. This

02:59protects this appropriation going forward. Thank you, Madam Chair.

03:03The clerk will call the roll on the Merkley Amendment.

03:07Senator McConnell.

03:09Senator McConnell votes no by proxy.

03:12Senator Murkowski.

03:14No.

03:15Senator Graham.

03:16No by proxy.

03:17Senator Moran.

03:19No by proxy.

03:20Senator Hoven.

03:21No.

03:22Senator Bozeman.

03:24No.

03:25Senator Capito.

03:26No.

03:28Senator Kennedy.

03:29Senator Kennedy votes no by proxy.

03:31Senator Hyde-Smith.

03:33Yes.

03:34Senator Haggerty.

03:35Senator Haggerty votes no by proxy.

03:38Senator Brick.

03:39No by proxy.

03:41Senator Mullin.

03:41No by proxy.

03:43Senator Fisher.

03:44No.

03:45Senator Rounds.

03:46Senator Rounds votes no by proxy.

03:48Senator Murray.

03:49Aye.

03:50Senator Durbin.

03:51Aye by proxy.

03:52Senator Reeve.

03:53Aye by proxy.

03:54Senator Shaheen.

03:55Aye by proxy.

03:56Senator Merkley.

03:57Aye.

03:58Senator Coons.

03:59Aye by proxy.

04:00Senator Schatz.

04:01Aye by proxy.

04:02Senator Baldwin.

04:04Aye.

04:05Senator Murphy.

04:06Aye by proxy.

04:07Senator Van Hollen.

04:08Aye.

04:09Senator Heinrich.

04:10Aye.

04:11Senator Peters.

04:12Aye by proxy.

04:13Senator Gillibrand.

04:14Aye.

04:16Senator Ossoff.

04:17Aye by proxy.

04:18Chair Collins.

04:19NO.

04:31ON THIS VOTE, THERE ARE 14 AYES AND 15 NAYS THE AMENDMENT IS NOT AGREED TO.

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